Not so lonely
by kindasortastantheman
Summary: It's funny how one person can completely reshape your life, at least this time it's for better.


**So, for those of you who don't know I really enjoy Omamori Himari. The anime, while enjoyable in its own right, didn't really do the manga a whole lot of justice. It's one of those things that's a lot Rosario+Vampire, where the manga tells a rather nice story with a decent but not over the top level of "plot" gently layered in. While the anime relies on it quite a bit more than it should. Not that there's anything wrong large amounts of service, but I would take a good story over something like that any day of the week. Except on a Tuesday, those are special.**

 **This is just a one shot, for now anyways. Someday I might decide to do more with it. But this story would need a lot more planning than what I have put into it thus far.**

* * *

Story Start

The village of Konoha was not known for being a quiet place. Sure, it was technically a "hidden village" so to speak. But aside from the large number of shinobi that lived and trained inside its walls, it was still much like any other large town.

The people were all kind and friendly enough to one another, so it wasn't too much of a surprise to see that the villagers, shinobi and civilians alike, got along rather well and were able to live in harmony with each other. Especially on a night like tonight. It had been exactly five years to the day since the village was attacked by the mighty Kyuubi No Kitsune, and they all made sure to remind themselves of their survival every year.

The Kyuubi festival served as both a way to honor the ones who had sacrificed themselves protecting the village, and a way to celebrate its continued existence. As such everyone made sure to have the best time possible. There were stalls as far as the eye could see; selling food, masks, souvenirs, and other miscellaneous games and activities. There was even a fireworks show that took place at the very end. All in all, one would find themselves very hard pressed to not enjoy themselves at such an exciting event.

Unless of course your name happened to be Naruto Uzumaki, then you might not be feeling very ecstatic to be around. Strictly speaking, he wasn't technically around. He had climbed up onto the rooftops to watch everyone else enjoy themselves, and maybe to even get a better view of the fireworks that would soon follow.

'Still though,' he couldn't help but think as he fondled the charm that was hung around his neck, 'I wish I could go down there and have fun like everyone else.' He had never understood why exactly he was always left out of these sorts of things, and seeing everyone else down below him having fun didn't really make him feel any better. He had tried asking Sarutobi-ojisan about it, but he was never given a real answer. All he knew was that for as long as he could remember, he had been alone.

The only thing that he had linking him to anyone at all was his necklace. It was rather unimpressive, from a cosmetic standpoint. It looked to be little more than a simple good luck charm attached to a thin cord that was draped over his neck, but to Naruto it was so much more. He had been told by the Sandaime that it was a gift from his parents, and that he should never take it off. That was more than enough for him though. Even if he wasn't told to never take it off, he still wouldn't have anyways. This necklace was the only thing he had left of his family, and he would be damned if he decided to ever take it off.

So here was, all alone for the 5th birthday in a row. When the Sandaime had asked what he had wanted as a birthday present, he honestly hadn't known what to ask for at first. Eventually however, he had settled on something that had, unbeknownst to him, nearly caused the old man's heart to break into pieces. He didn't want a toy, he didn't ask for some piece of really cool ninja gear, he didn't want books since he was terrible at reading, he hadn't even wanted ramen.

This year the only thing he had asked for was a friend. It didn't have to be a lot of them, just one would do perfectly fine as a matter of fact. This year his desire to not be all alone again had outweighed his want for anything else. However it seemed that despite being the Hokage, there were still things that the old man just couldn't accomplish.

Upon hearing what Naruto wanted for his birthday, the old Sarutobi had given him a sad looking smile and simply told him that he would see what he could do. Given that the day was nearly over, Naruto figured that it was safe to assume that his desire would not be granted. Maybe he should have just asked for some ramen noodles after all.

"My my, you shouldn't look so down Naruto-kun. It is your birthday after all." To Naruto's surprise, he was addressed by it none other than the third himself.

"Old man, what are you doing up here?" The third couldn't help but chuckle despite himself, he was always amazed at how quickly Naruto's demeanor could change from crestfallen to happy and upbeat in less than an instant.

"Well if you must know Naruto I was looking for you, and having quite the difficult time doing so if I might add." The young blonde scratched the back of his head with a sheepish smile on his face, he had intentionally chosen this spot. Partly for the nice view it gave him of the festivities, and partly because he was rather hard to spot from where he was sitting down.

"Sorry about that, I was looking for a fun place to watch the fireworks from. I would have gone down there to find a better spot but…" Naruto needed to say no more, as the Hokage knew better than most why Naruto couldn't interact with the villagers.

He was never abused, at least not in a physical way. Most of them preferred to pretend that he didn't exist, while others blatantly showed that they wished he had never been born in the first place. The old Hokage couldn't help but scoff at such an idea. Despite them hating the boy with a passion, none of them had ever even tried to give the boy a chance in the first place.

That was the reason that he passed the law forbidding anyone from informing Naruto of either his heritage, or his status as a jinchuriki. He had even gone so far as to forbid parents from telling their children about him. Even though the first part of law seemed a little ridiculous, as only a handful of people even knew who Naruto's father actually was. And among those select few, even less knew about what Minato's origins were.

He had pushed the second part of the law for different reasons, but he still had Naruto's best interests at heart. He just didn't want the boy to grow up without any sort of companionship, something that he was beginning to fear may have been naught but wishful thinking on his part.

So he did the only thing he could think of, he put hand on the young boys shoulder and stood beside him as the two watched the bright cascading showers of fireworks explode into the night.

* * *

Sarutobi couldn't help the weary sigh that escaped him as sat down in his chair back in his office. The festival had reached its end, much like it had every year since he was forced back into the role of Hokage. He hadn't had much choice in the matter anyway, it was either him or Danzo. And while the old warhawk may have had the village's best interests at heart, here was no way in hell he was going to let that happen. Shortly after the fireworks display had ended he had taken the tired young blonde back home, and proceeded to return to his office.

It was relatively late by this point, but not so much that the day had completely expired. Now that he thought about it, he still hadn't gotten Naruto a present yet. 'That boy, he could ask for anything in the world. Yet he asked for the one thing that I can't give him.' Sure, he supposed he could find someone new to look after the boy, but Naruto needed something else.

He needed someone who stick by his side no matter what happens. He needed someone to accept him for everything that he his. And most importantly, he needed someone who would love him unconditionally.

'Wait a moment…' The aging Hokage's eyes widened a considerable amount as he remembered that there may actually be someone who could fit that description.

Without wasting another second, he pulled out an empty scroll and began to write. All the while he was berating himself for not thinking of this idea sooner, not that that did anything to stop the grin that broke out on his face. 'Well Naruto-kun, looks like you won't be alone for too much longer after all.'

* * *

It wasn't very often that Naruto was called to the Hokage's office- Okay, that's a complete lie. He was called there quite often actually, even at an age as young as his, he still had a knack for causing mayhem. It wasn't anything on a massive scale, unless you count the infamous and yet also terrifying "horse shoe incident", from then on he was never allowed to be within thirty feet of a horse past 9:30pm. Other than that however, the most that he ever damaged was others pride... usually.

Still, that didn't mean people never complained about him. And as such, he found himself walking(see: being escorted by a group of anbu) to the Hokage tower. He hadn't seen the old man since the festival two days ago, so he had assumed that the elder Hokage had to have been really busy with something. Even at his young age, Naruto understood that being the Hokage was a huge responsibility.

Granted he thought that it had more to do with practicing being awesome as opposed to actually running a village, but he knew it was a taxing job nonetheless. So for him to be called here out of the blue was something of an oddity.

As he entered the doors to the Hokage's office, he was surprised to find it empty. "Sarutobi-jiji, you in here?" Upon receiving only silence as his reply his mind began to work at levels that no child should have been able to manage.

With a malicious grin set on his face he made his way over the big desk that was on one side of the room. He opened the drawer to the old man's desk, and quickly set to work to find what he was looking for. Upon finding the small object that was the purpose of his rummaging, he carefully closed the drawer to the desk.

Turning around so that he was facing the chair, he started to place something in it. Only to stop when he realized that the chair was partially occupied. The word 'partially' being used due to the small nature of what was inhabiting the chair. He stared owlishly at the small creature, only to receive the same look back for his trouble.

"A cat." Not so much a statement, but also not quite a question. He was in fact staring straight at a cat. This cat was different from the mangy looking ones that he had often seen on the street though. No, infact if he had to describe this cat he wouldn't use the word mangy at all. A better word might be….

Pretty. No… wait, that wasn't quite right either.

Absolutely beautiful. The cat had some of the brightest and most interesting eyes that he had ever seen. 'Purple?' He had seen many cats over his short lifespan, and not one of them had eyes that were even half as breathtaking as these. The cat's all white coat succeeded in bringing out the sharpness of its eyes even more.

"Ah, good. I was wondering when you were going to show up Naruto-kun." Said blonde was forced to do a complete one eighty to face the direction that voice had come from, only to see the Hokage kindly smiling at him in a grandfatherly way. He was about to ask him why he hadn't heard him come in, until he answered his own question. 'He's the Hokage, duh.'

Deciding to hurry up and get whatever the problem was out of the way as soon as possible, he had people to pran- er...visit after all. So he figured he might as well see what he'd done this time. "Alright, now listen. I promise that whatever you may or may not have heard, I did not put those fire ants inside of the ANBU section of the laundromat. Those were there before I even got there."

The Hokage could do little to stop the bead of sweat that rolled down his brow. 'He realizes that by telling me something that detailed he's pretty much confessing to it, right?' Quickly shaking away the thoughts of the future headache that he could sense forming in the back of his mind, he regained his composure and allowed a smile to form on his face once more.

"Don't worry Naruto-kun, you aren't any sort of trouble. At Least you weren't anyway." The boy sent him a cheeky grin as scratched the back of his head. "The reason I called you here actually has to do with what you requested of me a few days ago." It took a few moments for it to click in his head, but when it did his face lit up in a megawatt grin that could have easily blinded a lesser mortal.

"Really!? Where are they, did you bring them here or are they somewhere else. What's their name? Howoldaretheywherearetheyfromisitaboyoragirlarwthey-!"

"Naruto, calm down for a minute will you?" The blonde did just that, developing a small blush on his face due to how over excited he had gotten. "There now, if you would let me finish." He said sending the boy a rather cross look, "then you would have heard me say that it's someone who just recently acquainted yourself with."

At first he didn't quite understand what the old man meant, but as he felt something small and white brush up against his lower leg he received his answer. "You got me a cat?" He looked away from the small feline and back to the Hokage to confirm his suspicion. When he received a small nod as confirmation, he turned his attention back to cat.

"Does he have a name?" He asked without looking back at the Hokage.

"She." He looked at the old man in confusion for a moment, before realizing his mistake. 'Oh, I get it. I guess that makes sense, now that I think about it."

"What's her name then?"

"Himari, a beautiful name. Don't you think so?" The old man said with no small amount of reverence in his voice.

Looking back at the now named Himari he couldn't help but agree. "So your name's Himari, huh?" The small cats attention immediately focused on Naruto upon hearing its name called.

"So what do you think?" Naruto seemingly ignored the question in favor of picking up the white cat in his arms. He held her close and gently patted the top of her head, eliciting a gentle purr from the cat for his trouble.

Changing focus once more back to the Hokage, only one thought crossed through the blondes mind. "She's perfect."

* * *

"She's evil." Naruto, now age ten, tiredly threw himself face down on his bed and ceased all forms of movement save for the ones that involved breathing. "I quit, I'll live the rest of my days selling ramen and eggplants on the street corner at discount prices. Anything but this."

What was he quitting? Nothing, matter of factly. Despite him saying that he was going to quit, he knew very well that he would be getting back up the next morning to repeat the same process that he had today.

His everyday routine, if something as crazy as what he did could in fact be called that, was something that could give even the most physically active individuals pause. He woke up everyday at 5:30, after getting dressed in something that was comfortable to run in, he did just that. He made sure to at least 10 kilometers every morning.

In the beginning it had taken him well over an hour to do so, whereas now it only took him forty or so minutes to accomplish that particular feat. While it might not be all that daunting of a task for an older and more physically developed shinobi, it was craziness for a ten year old.

His day did not end there however. He had to then hurry home as fast as his tired body would take him and get cleaned up before going to the academy. He remembered what happened the first and last time he hadn't bathed after his morning run. He wasn't sure who was more miserable, him or his fellow classmates. It was safe to say that he would not be making that particular mistake again.

After leaving the academy he was even more tired, partly from all the exercises that they had to take part in, and partly from Iruka sensei's droning. However still made sure to rush home after classes got out. Not for rest though, as his day was far from over. Usually he had time to quickly change his clothes, and grab a quick snack before heading out into the training area. This was where his day usually went from bad to worse.

* * *

 _Four weeks ago_

 _It had taken Naruto a long time to find a secluded place to train, it probably would have taken even longer if he was looking alone. But thankfully he had someone to look for him while he was busy at the academy all day._

 _"It is just o'er yonder young master. Come now, don't tarry." A small all white cat was quickly making its way through a dense patch of trees, with Naruto following close behind._

 _"Slow down Himari, you haven't even told where we're going yet." If some might find it strange to see a young boy reprimanding a cat for not telling him what he wanted to know, then they would definitely find what followed to be even more peculiar._

 _Himari suddenly came to a complete stop, slightly startling the young blonde who had been running after her. "We have arrived young master." If Naruto thought a talking cat was strange he gave no indication of it then. Simply fixing her with a dry stare at where they were located._

 _"Uhh, Himari. I can't train here, this a team training ground. It's off limits to anyone who isn't on the team." If Himari was put off by his reasoning than she surely didn't show it._

 _The small cat instead seemed to puff up a little bit and adopted an almost haughty expression, if a cat were capable of such a thing. "Under normal circumstances you would be correct young master."_

 _Naruto nodded along with what Himari was saying, as if urging her to get to the point. "However," the small cat continued._

 _"The ninja team that was assigned this training ground did not pass their final test. As such, there is no team currently occupying this training ground."_

* * *

Naruto supposed he shouldn't have been surprised, his small yet highly energetic guardian always managed to get what she wanted. All he could do was release a defeated sigh and pray that his training wouldn't be too strenuous.

Unfortunately he was anything but correct. The last few weeks had been hell on earth, though he supposed that he was the one to blame for it. After all, the one who had decided on this regimen was himself. Why though? Was he crazy? Did he want to be more of a bad ass than he already was, if something like that was possible of course? Was he perhaps searching for a way to finally be recognized by the village?

It was none of those things actually. There was only one person that he cared about impressing, only one person's opinion who mattered. Especially now that third had passed on, it had been just over two years since that tragic day. Everyone one in the village had been so upset that no had even tried to protest his being there at the funeral. Ever since that day he had decided that he would give it everything he had to be the best ninja the leaf had ever seen. And it was all thanks to support of one "person".

It was someone who had promised to stay by his side no matter what. As his vision became hazy and his eyes drifted shut, he could just vaguely make out the all white outline of his precious companion. Himari had laid down right next to her small charge in a protective manner, and it wasn't long before she too found herself slowly following in her master's footsteps. "Sleep well young master."

* * *

 **Well, that's that I suppose. This was sort of an idea I had. A sort of a pet project, if you will. Like I said, it's just a one shot for now. But I may decide to tweak a few things and make a proper story out of one day.**

 **Given how that's going with all my other stories, well…**

 **It is what it is, so I'd love to hear any feedback that you guys have to offer. This idea was just bouncing around in my head for weeks, and it kept coming back whenever I tried to work on something else. However, I think I actually managed to get a bit of a spark of motivation to continue writing my other stories from this one, who knows?**

 **Till later… maybe**

 **Ya' know, cause this is a one shot.**


End file.
